Looking Up From The Bench

A CrossFit Journal Article from 2007 entitled “Understanding CrossFit " makes the following statement regarding the uniqueness of our fitness approach: “The methodology that drives CrossFit is entirely empirical. We believe that meaningful statements about safety, efficacy, and efficiency the three most important and interdependent facets of any fitness program, can be supported only by measurable, observable, repeatable facts, i.e., data. We call this approach “evidence-based fitness.” My very first CrossFit workout, 2012 Therefore as someone who definitely believes in what CrossFit teaches, it’s easy to get hung up on the easily identifiable physical improvements that are made: getting a faster time, achieving a PR, etc. However, sometimes I think we overlook the “mental gains” so to speak that come from our development as athletes in CrossFit. As I mentioned in my last post, part of the reason I love CrossFit so much is because of the metaphor it is for life...

This post is going to seem a bit contradictory to my last one but since this blog is supposed to be about what actually happens in my life I needed to share. As I’ve mentioned, I have goals in both the sports of powerlifting and CrossFit. My soul goal in powerlifting thus far has mainly focused on bench press. When I was invited to do a bigger powerlifting meet in my area, I kind of took it as an opportunity I shouldn’t pass up.  After all, I kind of have a natural talent for certain aspects of that sport and it would give me a chance to compete at a higher level.  So, for the last few months I’ve been trying to make myself into a full powerlifter who just does CrossFit to stay healthy in preparation for that meet. I resided to not training for CrossFit this competition season to focus, and made this decision some time ago. However, as the CrossFit season grew closer I was honestly miserable in training. I felt isolated, lonely, and without purpose in what I was doing. ...

I wasn’t really inspired to write about anything in particular today so I thought I’d share my thoughts about the super bowl… Haha totally kidding, I legitimately don’t understand a single thing about football. The whole yards and downs thing is completely foreign to me. No, I actually thought I would take this opportunity to write three super positive things that happened in my training this week. Coming back from an injury is certainly difficult, and it’s easy as an athlete to only focus on those difficulties, but a lot of good has happened this week! 1. I finally feel focused and at peace with my decisions. Like I’ve mentioned before I have big goals in both the sports of powerlifting and CrossFit. And sometimes, I feel impatient and want to focus on improving all aspects of both sports at the same time. And while this can happen to some degree, (and honestly has) right now it isn’t feasible. I went into this year with so much fire inside me from rehabbing an injury last ye...

I’ve kind of had a recurring struggle this week and I thought it would be super cathartic for me to share. Some people know I have a significant amount of anxiety and there are A LOT of factors that contribute to that. But one major one is that sometimes actions that are seemingly small or minor for most people can often have huge consequences for me in affecting my ability to work towards my goals. For example, a lot of people are five minutes late from time to time. Sometimes it might throw them off in some slight way, but oftentimes these five minutes mean virtually nothing in the scheme of their day. For me, if I’m five minutes late I could miss the train by just two minutes and my day could be impacted by over an hour. And furthermore, my mistake gets thrown in my face, as I now have to wait outside in the middle of winter while I wait for the next one. This makes it super easy for me to start again with those thoughts that aren’t true “I’m so stupid” “I’ve ruined everything” “I...

Sometimes, I question my goals and dreams and think to myself, am I completely unreasonable and delusional in what I hope to achieve? Up until this year, I didn't even allow myself to admit I had goals because I was scared I wouldn’t achieve them. However, like I said in my first post, I'm trying to mitigate that negative belief. This new found mental strength makes me want to attack my training and all things related to CrossFit and powerlifting full force. Ankle Injury 2013 However, this hunger to strive towards my goals without fear has been greatly deterred by injury. In 2013 I had a freak injury that left my ankle permanently immobile. In my opinion, this is the root of every subsequent injury I’ve had. The two major ones being a torn ACL (2014) and an aggravated herniated disk (2015).   In addition to the injuries, I also lost training time having two eye surgeries and dealing with vision loss at the end of 2015. Being injured literally half...

Snapshot I guess you could say the story that got me to this point of starting a blog began when I was born. Me, my brother, and one of my first pairs of glasses You see, I was born with congenital cataracts in both eyes, and subsequently developed glaucoma, complications that helped shape the course my life. After all was said and done treating these eye diseases, I was fortunate to be left with some sight leaving me pretty functional, but still dealing with a disability that wasn’t always seen by others. Due to the numerous surgeries I was lucky to receive during the first few years of my life to save the most possible sight, my physical development was below average. When I was 17 months old, the pediatrician told my parents that I was hypotonic (had low muscle tone) and would never be an athlete. I knew of the doctor’s assumption while growing up. Even though I participated in gymnastics and other “normal” activities for kids my age, deep down I think I believed what...